


Halloween

by dadezra



Category: Choices: Stories You Play, Pixelberry, The Freshman (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-02 21:44:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10953327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dadezra/pseuds/dadezra
Summary: Professor Vasquez assigns Liv (MC) and her friends to explore a haunted house on Halloween to use their experiences in his writing. It takes place during the James x MC break in book 2. Will they make up or will things get too spooky? This summary sucks sorry:)





	Halloween

“No. No no no no.” You shake your head adamantly. It’s true you’ve gone along with Vasquez’s insane requests in the past but this one is simply not doable.  
“Liv, why is it that you love all things horror and paranormal but are so terrified of this?” Professor Vasquez doesn’t even look up from the papers on his desk.  
“Movies, Vasquez! I like scary movies. What I don’t like is spending the night in a haunted house and I think the reasons are pretty self explanatory!” You throw your hands in the air. Your professor wants you and your friends to spend Halloween night in a haunted house and document the experience for his own writing.   
“Why don’t you bring James along?” He motions towards the man hunched over a laptop on the other side of the room. You were so worked up over the conversation that you’d forgotten James was even here. Your stomach flip flops when he looks up at the two of you. He looks so handsome, it makes your heart ache.  
“James, I insist that you join Liv and her roommates tomorrow night.” Vasquez says matter-of-factly. You feel sick as you watch James’ eyes widen. “And I want the both of you to report back to me the next morning.”

It’s been a month since James broke things off with you. The “break” was beginning to feel much more permanent considering he hasn’t replied to any of your messages. The two of you were simply ignoring each other now. As much as you pretended to not notice him in Vasquez’s class or when you passed each other on campus, he was all you could think about. You were beyond hurt that he wouldn’t give you the chance to explain, let alone acknowledge you. He hardly even looked at you anymore.  
The professor had spent three days in the hospital after the scary night in your dorm when he collapsed. He was stable now but that didn’t make a difference to James.   
“He doesn’t have to come.” You say quietly.   
“No, I’ve made my mind up, Liv.” Vasquez gives a sly smile. He knows you hate everything about this. “This is the perfect inspiration for my next chapter.”

The drive was awkward. James had agreed to drive because he clearly had the nicest car out of us all. Chris sat in the front while you and Kaitlyn shared the back. The rest of your roommates claimed they already had plans but you could tell they were chickening out. Not that you could blame them. This wasn’t your ideal night either.   
The four of you sit in silence as the GPS leads you further and further from the city.   
“So…” Chris attempts to make conversation, “Why is your professor making us do this again?”  
“Vasquez controls my scholarship so I’m forced to do whatever he says.” You mutter from the back seat, sliding down further on the slippery leather interior.  
Your mind wanders to the last time your were in James’ back seat and your face immediately turns red.  
“Hey.” Kaitlyn wraps an arm around you so that your head is resting on her shoulder. “This is going to be really fun, okay?”   
“Yeah, I wasn’t complaining.” Chris turns around to face you and grins, “I love spooky shit like this! Remember that night we were on the roof alone and messed with that Ouija board, Liv?”  
You begin to laugh. That was way back last year when you and Chris began spending a lot of time together. Before you’d even met James.  
“You freaked out so bad I practically had to sleep on your floor with you that night.” He continues. Out of the corner of your eye you can see James gripping the steering wheel tighter. Nothing had happened that night but you didn’t mind letting James’ mind wander.  
“Yeah,” you giggle, “That was an interesting night.”   
James clears his throat and speaks for the first time, “We’re here.”   
“Your destination is on the left.” The robotic GPS voice announces as we pull into the long gravel driveway of a huge decrepit building. There’s overgrown tangles of ivy covering the porch and weeds growing so high that you almost miss the sign that reads “Shaley Manor 1845.”  
“Oh shit! This is awesome.” Chris is the first of us to jump out.   
“I feel like we’re in Evil Dead.” Kaitlyn laughs and follows after. That leaves you and James.   
“Thanks for driving.” You lean forward to talk to him, hoping that this moment alone will allow you to finally explain your side.  
“No problem.” Without looking your way, he exits the car and shuts the door with more force than necessary. Ouch. Tears threaten at the corners of your eyes but you force them back before joining the group.

 

An elderly woman greets you on the porch. James reaches out to shake hands but is taken aback when she pulls him in for a tight squeeze instead.   
“I just got off the phone with Mr. Vasquez. He said you’d be arriving soon. It’s so wonderful to have you!” She hobbles over to hug each of you.  
“Thanks for letting us stay.” Kaitlyn hugs her back, amused at how cute the tiny woman is.  
“Is… Is this your home?”  
“Oh no, honey. But it was my family’s. Come on in, I’ll get you a set of keys and give you a little background on the manor.”

The inside wasn’t as horrifying as you’d pictured. It could be a normal home if it weren’t for the extremely outdated features, large size, and you know… the overall hauntedness. The woman tells the eery history of the place. It’s been in her family since the beginning. They’d ran it as a hotel and it had been very popular, being the only hotel for miles back in the 1800s. The tragedies began with multiple deaths due to influenza.  
“There was no hospital nearby and it spread rapidly.” She explained, “One of the victims, a little girl named Elizabeth, is the ghost most often seen here.”  
“Have you seen her yourself?” Chris asks, very intrigued.  
“Many times, darling.” She smiles and you feel goosebumps raise on your forearms. “Elizabeth’s father was so overcome with grief, he went on to hang himself in the room right above us. Sometimes you can hear his footsteps. You’ll also probably hear whistling, kids playing, doors opening, that sort of thing.” She waved her hand nonchalantly as if that were the most normal thing.   
“After that the business started to die down. The name was changed to Shaley Manor to attract different customers but it was no use. Now we advertise it as a paranormal destination. It’s been successful, although maybe too successful. The last group left a review saying how they’d never come back because of how horrified they were and that it’s a place to not be tampered with. It’s been a couple years since we’ve had guests.”  
“Wait, what?” You interrupt, unsure if you heard the woman correctly. “You’re saying that no one’s slept here in years? Because of how horrifying it is?”   
She nods, “I mentioned this to Mr. Vasquez and he was thrilled! He said he would write about this in a book and I gave him a discounted price! Ahh, how exciting for you children! We’re all going to be in a published book!”   
“Oh my god…” You look over at James, who for the first time is looking directly back at you. He appears to be dreading the night just as much, especially after hearing the story.  
“Typical Vasquez.” He whispers to you.

-

“Alright! Who’s ready to ghost hunt?” Chris enters the kitchen with an arm full of flashlights.  
You’d just finished lighting candles and lanterns all throughout the kitchen and front room. There was electricity but the lights bulbs were flickering and making the atmosphere even creepier.  
“Yeah let’s check out the basement.” Kaitlyn suggests, “That’s where the children supposedly like to play.”  
“Hmm… let’s not.”  
“Come on! Kids are fun. Maybe they’ll talk to- OH MY GOD!” Kaitlyn gasps and runs out of the room. You spin around making sure she hadn’t seen the Grim Reaper lurking behind you or something.  
“You all good, Kaitlyn?” James yells, giving you another look as if to say “wow your friends are weird.”  
“I’m perfect! I can’t believe I almost forgot.” She returns with a huge smile on her face and a Ouija board in her hands.

-

“Is there anyone in this room with us?” Your voice falters, showing your nerves as the wooden piece moves towards “Yes.”  
There is absolutely no electricity in the basement, only candles which create glowing shadows that aren’t helping your rising heart rate..   
“Ask who it is!” Chris nudges you.  
“Okay, who are you?” The piece slowly moves beneath all of your fingers to the letter E.  
“Elizabeth?” James asks. A creak sounds from the floorboards directly above, sending a shower of dust over the four of you. You all freeze and look at James who looks just as frightened as the rest of you.   
“Guys…” Kaitlyn’s eyes are open wider than you’ve ever seen before. “Did it just get really cold in here?” You didn’t realize until now that you’re shivering and pull your sweater closer around your body.  
“What the hell was that?” James points upwards.  
“There’s someone in the house with us!” Your eyes search the dark room frantically, trying to find something you could use as a weapon. You’re really not up for being murdered tonight.  
“Well duh there’s someone in the house. It’s Elizabeth… the ghost.” Kaitlyn chuckles at your panic.  
Chris scoots closer on the hard concrete over to you and rests a hand on your shoulder, rubbing soft circles over the fabric with his thumb. You have flashbacks to the night on the roof with him. Again, nothing had happened but it could’ve if you’d wanted.  
“Liv, I bet it was just a rat or something like that. The old lady gave us the keys and locked up remember? It’s only us.” You notice James staring at Chris stroking your arm and you can’t quite make out his expression in the darkness. Regardless, your breathing slows down and you nod.  
“Okay…” You all return to the board, “Elizabeth… where are you?”   
You expect her to say something creepy like “upstairs” or “behind you,” but the answer you receive is even worse.  
“Hell.”


End file.
